National Breakthrough Star award: Ryan Vickers

RYAN Vickers has been voted the National Breakthrough Star of 2017 after a series of standout performances in his first year outside club racing.

The Thetford teenager took 23.2 per cent of the peoples’ votes, while lady racer and Ducati TriOptions Cup competitor Ieva Baublyte took second with 19.4 per cent.

Superteen standouts Kade Verwey and Matthew Bower, who both took multiple podiums in the KTM British Junior Cup, the latter even bagging a win at Silverstone, finished third and fourth, respectively.

Fresh off a runner-up finish in the Thundersport 500 championship where he missed out on the title by just five points, Vickers took the National Superstock championship by storm in his first season aboard a 600.

Scoring his first podium at Silverstone with a third place finish, the youngster went on to firmly stamp his authority on the BSB support series two rounds later with victory at the Brands Hatch finale.